McGee looked at his reflection in the huge dusty mirror and swallowed hard.
"Abby, when I said I'd go with you, I didn't imagine…this," he said.
"You have to look the part, and this is perfect!" said Abby excitedly, a glint in her eye.
"I look…weird," McGee said plainly.
"I think you look…handsome," Abby said smiling from ear to ear, her eyes travelling the length of his body. Colour crept into McGee's cheeks as he stared in the mirror and he quickly turned away so she wouldn't spot his embarrassment. Abby was too distracted by the tightness of the material over McGee's butt to notice anything.
The changing room into which they had been enclosed was small and musky, and the smell of incense floated around them. The walls were lined with black velvet drapes, which fell to the ground, darkening the room. A crystal chandelier hung high above them, the only light source in the room, throwing glistening shapes across the ceiling.
McGee had felt out of place the moment he had seen this shop from across the street, but Abby had pulled him by the hand, across the road. As the door had opened McGee was hit by the smoky wave of incense and it had taken a while for his eyes to adjust. Abby, meanwhile, had sparked up a bubbling conversation with the lady sitting behind the counter. McGee had stood nervously looking around him, afraid to touch anything for fear of it coming alive. It was a silly thought but somehow it didn't seem so silly at the time.
The woman to whom Abby was talking was older, at least in her 70s from what McGee could tell. Her greying hair was wild and unkempt, huge drooping earrings just hiding underneath. Her eyelids were laced with a rim of black but that took nothing away from the sparkling blueness of the eyes within them. They were light and pale, and to McGee slightly unnerving.
The woman had stood up revealing her frail frame, and the long purple dress she wore swept along the floor as she walked. She was extremely slender and the material hung loosely from her. She was dowsed in jewellery from beautiful large opal rings, to the huge pendant hanging from her neck; a stunning pewter dragon barely skimming her chest.
The woman had pushed him into the changing room, handing him a collection of clothes, all sporting some sort of velvet of lace attachment. His face had paled and he swayed slightly underneath the weight of the pile of garments in his arms. He would have walked out right then if it hadn't been for look of intense anticipation on Abby's face. He drew the curtain across and started to undress.
It had taken several attempts to find the right attire and McGee was tired and drained, each outfit seemingly harder and harder to get on and off. Each time he modelled the selection the woman's face would fall at the sight of him and quickly whisk up another set. Abby sat enthralled by the whole experience, obviously confident in this peculiar woman's abilities. It was that same woman now who had a look of pure adoration as she looked at him now. She hadn't spoken, at least to McGee, up until and now, and she did so with a raspy voice.
"My dear, we have found your date for the ball."
Abby just squealed with delight. McGee smiled unconvinced.
***
Author's Chapter Notes:
McGee gets kitted out for the upcoming event!